Rocky Road Trip
by Her Name Means Beauty
Summary: Aurora and her best friends, Ariel, Belle, Tiana, and Jasmine, set out on a summer road trip. Teen AU.


**Saturday, July 20****th**

Aurora stared at the ice cream cone keychain on her bed. There was nothing special about it; it was just a piece of plastic designed to look like a scoop of pink ice cream, topped with rainbow sprinkles, and dripping down a generic-looking cone.

Aurora's mom, Fauna, loved sweets. Everything from candy to cake. But, her favorite thing in the world was ice cream. There were always several different flavors stocked in the freezer. Aurora's other mom, Flora, used to joke that Fauna didn't have just one sweet tooth, but all of her teeth were sweet. Flora had always been health-conscious, preferring fruit to sweets. But, even she couldn't resist the temptation of strawberry ice cream when Fauna would bring it home.

Aurora smiled at the memories of her moms that filled her thoughts. But, the smiled faded quickly as a small voice in her head reminded her they were both gone now.

She had lost Flora two years ago in a car accident. Fauna wasn't the same after that. She shut down and fell into a deep depression. She struggled and fought it as long as she could. But, a month ago she lost the fight and took her life.

Fauna left behind a letter telling Aurora where she could find her birth parents. There was an address and strict instructions to take a road trip across the country to California to meet them. Attached to the letter was a list of all the best ice cream places on the way.

Aurora had been born in California. Her moms took a road trip from their home in North Carolina to California to pick up Aurora. Fauna left Aurora the map and directions detailing the same route they had taken.

There was a light knock on her bedroom door. One of Aurora's best friends, Belle, stuck her head in. "There you are. We've been worried about you."

When Belle opened the door all the way and came into the room, Aurora saw her other best friends, Ariel, Tiana, and Jasmine, were with her. She hadn't seen them since the funeral three weeks ago. She texted them to check in and let them know she was all right, but she hadn't been up to seeing anyone.

All at once, Aurora's friends enveloped her in a group hug. They all understood what she was going through. They had all lost parents, too; all at different stages in their lives to different things. Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine had lost their moms and Tiana had lost her dad. The only difference was now Aurora was an orphan; at least her friends still had one parent.

Jasmine plopped down on Aurora's bed and picked up the ice cream cone keychain. "What's this?"

Aurora explained Fauna's road trip instructions with her friends.

"Are you going?" Ariel asked.

"I don't know if I'm ready to meet my birth parents. My moms were my _real_ parents. My birth parents didn't want me."

"You don't know that," Belle said. "You don't know why they gave you up."

"Belle's right," Tiana agreed. "Maybe they thought adoption was the best option for you."

Ariel put her arm around Aurora. "And it turned out to be the _very_ best thing for you."

Aurora smiled. "Yeah, it did."

"You should do this," Belle told her. "And we're coming with you."

Aurora arched an eyebrow. "You are?"

"Of course! This is a big deal. We can't make you go through this alone. Right, guys?"

Tiana, Ariel, and Jasmine quickly agreed.

"Besides," Ariel added. "This is our last summer together. You're all leaving for college in a month."

That was true. Jasmine was going to Stanford in California, Belle was going to Northwestern in Illinois, and Aurora was going to Columbia in New York. Ariel and Tiana were the only ones staying in their small North Carolina hometown.

"We should start planning." Tiana picked up a notebook and pen off Aurora's desk.

"What's to plan?" Jasmine asked. "Fauna left Aurora the directions and all the stops we need to make."

"Our budget, for one," Tiana replied. "When we're going, for two. And-"

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "You're overthinking this."

"And you're not thinking at all," Tiana snapped. "Not all of us can just pick up and go across the country on a whim."

Aurora had wondered how long it would take before Jasmine and Tiana started fighting. Tiana came from a poorer family that has always had to work hard for everything; whereas Jasmine was born into an extremely wealthy family and has never had to work for anything or worry about money. They both had different views on everything and would often butt heads.

"_Some_ of us could if they just accepted help from their friends!" Jasmine retorted.

"I don't need your handouts. I'm not your charity case!"

"It's not charity! It's called helping."

"You guys!" Belle hissed. "This is not the time for your arguing. Cool it."

Belle cleared her throat as an awkward silence filled the room. "Aurora, how long does Fauna's directions say it's going to take to get to California?"

"About a week, with all the stopping."

Belle nodded. "Maybe we should talk to our parents first and see if they'll even let us go. The trip will probably take two weeks total."

"My dad won't care," Jasmine said. "He left two days ago for a business trip and won't be back until next week sometime."

"The rest of us still should," Belle said. "Maybe we can get together tomorrow and discuss this more?"

"We can meet at my house," Jasmine offered.

"Aurora, is this OK with you?" Tiana asked. "I know we just kinda invited ourselves along on your trip…"

Aurora smiled. "Of course! It's how my mom would have wanted it."


End file.
